What are the “me years?”

The “me years” refer to a time life after leaving school, before “settling down,” a new stage of life, historically speaking, in terms of female experience. My generation were the pioneers. The major milestones of the women’s movement did happen before our time–the chicks in the 60s were taking the pill, and the ladies in the 80s were breaking the glass ceiling–but most of them were married while doing it.

Today, women are delaying marriage and childbirth in unprecedented numbers to obtain degrees, move to cities, start careers. Free of the responsibilities, demands (and anchors) of family life, the “me years” can feel like an awful never-never land of extended adolescence, a period of valuable personal growth, or, confusingly, both. I wanted to write about the “me years” from a spiritual perspective.

However, if devotional literature is prescriptive and seeks to edify, this brand of nonfiction is more personal and exploratory. While I hope it will be enjoyed by anyone who is a.) a woman, b.) familiar with the trials of the “me years,” or c.) literate, it will perhaps be best understood by the residually religious and the peculiarly possessed.